By Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj and Amit Sarwal
Indian-Australian community has once again been left in shock with one of the iconic Hindu temples outside the Indian subcontinent vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti.
The vandalism of the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs comes just within a week of anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti smeared on the walls of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Mill Park.
This act of vandalism came to notice on Monday 16th January morning when Temple devotees came for ‘darshan’ as three days long “Thai Pongal” festival is being celebrated by the Tamil Hindu community.
Ms Usha Senthilnathan a long-time devotee of Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple told The Australia Today, “We are a Tamil minority group in Australia, a lot of us came as refugees to escape the religious persecution.”
“This is my place of worship and it’s not acceptable to me that these Khalistan supporters are vandalising it with their hate messages without any fear.”
I urge Premier Dan Andrews and Victoria Police to take strict action against these goons who are trying to scare the Victorian Hindu community,” added Ms Senthilnathan.
It is important to note that on the evening of 15th January 2023, Khalistan supporters tried to draw support for their referendum through a car rally in Melbourne. However, they failed miserably as less than two hundred people gathered out of an almost 60,000-strong Melbourne community.
Hindu Council of Australia’s Victoria chapter President Makrand Bhagwat told The Australia Today, “I can’t tell you how upset I am for witnessing a second Hindu Temple vandalised for Khalistan propaganda.”
“Our Temples vandalism is deplorable and should not be tolerated by the wider community.”
Melbourne Hindu community member Sachin Mahate told The Australia Today, “If these Khalistan supporters have the courage they should go and draw graffiti on the Victorian Parliament building rather than target peaceful Hindu communities religious places.”
Victorian Liberal Party MP Brad Battin has told The Australia Today, “In no way, our future can be built on hate when it has been built on working together for so long.”
“There is no place in Victoria or Australia for this kind of behaviour what we are seeing here.”
“Victoria is and will remain the best multicultural state in the world as long as people learn to work together not against each other,” added Mr Battin.
Earlier on 12th January 2023, Khalistan supporters have written praises on the walls of BAPS Swaminarayan Temple of an Indian terrorist Bhindrawala responsible for killing more than twenty thousand Hindus and Sikhs as a ‘Martyr’.
The Australia Today has revealed how these Khalistan supporters even recorded a video of their despicable and disrespectful act at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. And soon, the social media accounts started sharing the images and videos claiming it to be their brave act against Indian-Australian Hindus.
Victoria Police confirmed to The Australia Today that an investigation into the vandalism of the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir incident is ongoing.
“Police are investigating after reports of graffiti in Mill Park on 12 January. Police have been told graffiti was written on the walls and fence of a building on Heaths Road in the early hours of the morning.“
Meanwhile, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and Gurdwara Siri Guru Nanak Darbar, Victorian Council of Churches and Buddhist Council of Victoria have strongly condemned the attack on the Hindu temples.
“This act must be called out as hate speech and religious vilification,”
said Jewish Community Council of Victoria.
They added that death threats to Hindus are a very serious matter as the Indian-Australian community is now living in fear of the Khalistan supporters.
The then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Dan Andrews visited Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple at Carrum Downs just a few months back.
Hindu Society of Victoria’s Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple at Carrum Downs is one of the oldest temples in Victoria. On 22 May 1994, the Maha Kumbhabishekam of Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple was performed with due rigorous rituals and procedures in the presence of a large number of devotees and Hindu priests from India, Sri Lanka, and other temples of Australia.
“May 22, 1994 was a day in the life of Hindus in Victoria that saw the dream of Hindus in Victoria come true.”
Note: The Australia Today has connected multiple stakeholders for comments, we will update the story as it happens.
